Man In Denial
Against All Odds
Seohyun returned with the medical kit and sat beside Yonghwa again. She opened it, took out a cotton wool and wiped the toothpaste away. Then, she began applying some antiseptic cream on the burn, stinging it slightly to clean the wound. She wrapped the burn securely with a plaster and wrapped her small hand around his finger, applying pressure to secure the plaster.
Throughout the entire process, Yonghwa stared at her face curiously without even noticing himself, inspecting every single element on her face thoroughly.
She had a small face with pale skin, her eyes were large but there were noticeable eye bags under them probably from fatigue. Three jobs a day seemed a little too much to Yonghwa anyways. Her other features such as her nose and mouth were pretty elegant in his opinion and she had brown hair that went all the way to her back.
Yonghwa had to admit,
She wasn't an ugly girl.
Perhaps it was because of her constant tired look, people overlooked her beauty.
What a shame.
She seemed to have noticed his eyes constantly targeting her face and looked up to meet his eyes. Her large eyes met his curious eyes.
"What are you staring at?" she asked curiously. Now, their faces were inches away from each other, their eyes stared right into each other. Seohyun looked at him questioningly.
"Nothing" Yonghwa said softer than he expected.
There was an awkward silence as Yonghwa searched Seohyun's face with his eyes. She looked slightly taken aback from his soft tone of voice and her face went slightly red, or was that his imagination? He wasn't sure.
It seemed like an eternity before Seohyun pulled away, tucking her hair behind her ear and closing the medical kit tightly.
"Well you can rest, I'll go finish up and dinner will be ready" Seohyun stuttered slightly from the embarrassment, getting up onto her feet.
Yonghwa immediately began protesting, "I'm fine though, I can help finish things up". He tried to get up from his seat but Seohyun immediately pushed him back down to the couch, surprising him in the process.
"You are the guest and you're injured already. I'm already a terrible host, just let me finish it on my own" Seohyun sighed and shook her head.
Noticing that arguing was futile, Yonghwa finally said, "Okay".
"Thank you" Seohyun muttered under her breath.
Seohyun went back into the kitchen while Yonghwa sat at the sofa by himself. Now that he was alone, suddenly everything he did just now came back to attack him.
Did he just admire Seo Ju Hyun's face?
He sat frozen at the sofa as his inner self battled with his mind.
What was he doing?
What was this feeling he felt towards Seo Ju Hyun?
It started out as hatred, to dislike to.. what was this feeling?
He couldn't be attracted to her, definitely not. He was Jung Yonghwa, the president of KOUTE. He wasn't as foolish as his sister.
He knew where his life was going to go ever since he was 14. He was going to take over KOUTE from his parents and marry a typical random rich girl from an arranged marriage to upgrade his company just like all the other rich business man does. If he was lucky, he wouldn't hate his future wife too much.
He never thought he would fall in love with a perfect stranger.
He didn't like Seo Ju Hyun at all.
No way.
The front door opened, startling Yonghwa from his deep thoughts. Yoona and Jonghyun came in. Yoona smiled at her brother while Jonghyun grinned uneasily.
"Anyeong oppa! You're here already?" Yoona smiled, taking off her shoes.
Yonghwa noted that Jonghyun and her kept a distance from each other which pleased Yonghwa utterly. Yonghwa smiled at her, "I've been here for quite a while already".
Jonghyun bowed to Yonghwa after closing the front door behind him, "Anyonghasaeyo".
Yonghwa nod and greeted back, "Anyonghasaeyo".
Jonghyun fidgeted and asked immediately, "Where's Seohyun Noona?".
Seohyun's voice called from the kitchen immediately, "I'm in the kitchen!".
"Wait eonnie, I'll go help!" Yoona immediately offered, putting her shoe on the shoe cabinet.
"It's okay, Yoona. Go and treat your pabo brother instead, he burned himself!" Seohyun told her from the kitchen.
Yonghwa's face immediately flustered, did that woman have to announce to the whole world that he was incompetent enough to burn himself while doing some simple cooking?!, "YAH!".
Yoona looked surprised at Yonghwa, "Oppa, you burned yourself?".
"Aniyo!" Yonghwa denied instantly.
"Yes he did!" Seohyun yelled from the kitchen.
"SEO JU HYUN!" Yonghwa warned her loudly.
From the kitchen, they could hear a loud chuckle that was undoubtedly by Seohyun.
Jonghyun looked apologetically at Yonghwa and Yoona, "Sorry, my sister gets a little crazy sometimes".
"Seo Jong Hyun, I heard that!" Seohyun warned him from the kitchen.
"I meant for you to hear that!" Jonghyun called back casually.
Yoona went to sit beside her brother while Jonghyun sat on another sofa.
"CRAPPY BROTHER" Seohyun cursed from the kitchen causing Yoona to burst into giggles while Yonghwa couldn't help but smile in amusement. Jonghyun simply looked nonchalant and muttered, "Yeah thanks".
Yonghwa looked at Yoona who was inspecting his plastered finger and shaked her off, "It's no big deal. That woman was just making a fuss".
Yoona looked confused at Yonghwa, "Oppa, how did you get burned?".
Yonghwa stated the obvious casually, "I was helping to cook".
Yoona's mouth fell open as expected, "You cooked?".
"Helped" Yonghwa corrected her.
"Wow oppa, I haven't seen you cook ever since you quit cooking class" Yoona said in awe.
"Well, it was very reminiscent" Yonghwa shrugged.
Seohyun's voice called again from the kitchen, "Jonghyun, pull the dining table further out and get two more chairs for the guest!".
"Ahrasso!" Jonghyun answered and pulled the dining table out of the kitchen to the space between the living room and the kitchen. He pulled the two existing dining chairs from the kitchen and arranged them to the table. He went into his room and pulled out a roller chair that was meant for his desk and went to Seohyun's room to pull out her chair. He arranged it at the dining table and clapped his hands in satisfaction, "Just right".
Yonghwa stared at him with astonishment. Surely their house has other dining chairs, who uses roller chairs for dining?
Were they that poor?
Yonghwa caught Yoona glancing at him. She placed a finger at her lips and gave him a meaningful look.
She was warning him to not comment. She need not worry about that though, even if he wanted to comment or scorn, he didn't know what to say.
He stared curiously at the satisfied expression on Jonghyun's face.
Poor people were so easily satisfied. What was there to be satisfied when they barely had enough chairs for four?
Seohyun came out of the kitchen, still wearing her apron but carrying a steaming pot with two hands. She smiled at Yoona and greeted her, "Anyonghasaeyo".
"Anyonghasaeyo!" Yoona bowed at her.
Seohyun went and placed the pot carefully on the table. Jonghyun, Yoona and Yonghwa came crowding around the table.
"You two are home just in time for dinner" Seohyun grinned. "Jonghyun, there's still three pots inside for each of us. Go get it" Seohyun instructed.
Jonghyun grin gleefully at the food, "Ne!".
"I'll go help!" Yoona went after Jonghyun into the kitchen.
Yonghwa muttered something like, "Me too" and turned to follow them but Seohyun grabbed him by the arm to a halt.
"No you don't" Seohyun pushed him to sit on the dining chair.
Yonghwa looked up at her in disbelief, "What?".
"I don't want you to be an idiot and burn yourself again" Seohyun scorned. Yonghwa's jaw dropped as he spluttered, "Idiot--?!".
"This is yours" Seohyun gestured to the bowl before heading to the kitchen.
Yonghwa's mouth remain opened as he gasped in disbelief. When was that woman going to stop cutting him off and walking away from him?
He was going to show her who is boss one day. Just she wait.
Yoona and Jonghyun appeared from the kitchen, each carrying a pot of hot bibimbap. They carefully set it down on the table and sat down. Seohyun arrived carrying her own pot of bibimbap and the cutlery. She distributed the cutlery accordingly and sat down.
"Well" Seohyun cleared as all three of them looked at her expectantly. As the host, she was expected to tell them to eat of course. "This is just a simple dish because time wasn't very sufficient but all the same, I hope you two like it" Seohyun nod to Yonghwa and Yoona. Yoona smiled back while Yonghwa nod.
Jonghyun rolled his eyes, "Just say we can dig in, Noona".
Seohyun glared immensely at Jonghyun, "I was getting to that part you brat! Alright, let's eat".
There was a murmur of "I'll eat well" before everyone started digging into their pot of warm bibimbap.
Yoona ate a spoonful and shivered in delight, "It's tasty,eonnie!".
Yonghwa chewed and tasted the bibimbap carefully. It was tasty, one of the best bibimbap he has ever tasted. He cleared and commented, "It's passable".
Seohyun said flatly back at him, "Well thanks".
They ate in silence for a moment before Yoona piped up, "So oppa, what do you think about this place? Quite cosy right?", she gave Yonghwa another meaningful look which probably told him to keep anything mean to himself.
Yonghwa thought for a moment before finally answering, "To be fair, I wouldn't call it comfortable since I'm used to big houses" Jonghyun nod seriously while Seohyun continued eating.
"But it is pretty cosy and has a warm vibe to it" Yonghwa added in the end.
Yoona clapped her hands together, "So you like it!".
Yonghwa shrugged, "I don't hate it".
"Doesn't matter whether he likes it or not" Seohyun muttered too loudly to be conspicuous, "Not like it's his house".
Jonghyun elbowed her slightly. Seohyun glared at him and mouthed, "What".
Yonghwa ignored them and said, "Well Seohyun-shii is right, I'm just here as a guest after all, there's no need to ask for my comments".
Jonghyun and Yoona stared wide eyed at each other. This Jung Yong Hwa was two worlds different from the Jung Yong Hwa that demanded to inspect the Seo house.
What in the world caused such a drastic change?
Even Seohyun looked slightly surprise at the change in Yonghwa's attitude but Yonghwa looked casual as he continued eating his bibimbap.
The dinner continued with several exchange of polite conversations and several nice compliments. Jonghyun was surprised when the dinner ended surprisingly faster and easier than he imagined. He offered to wash the dishes since Seohyun prepared dinner and Yoona volunteered to help him so Seohyun and Yonghwa sat on opposite sofas at the living room while the other two washed up at the kitchen.
It was the perfect definition of awkward as the two sat facing each other. The TV was on of course but their mind seemed to tune out the sounds that they faced each other in silence. Seohyun crossed her arms at her chest and cleared while Yonghwa suddenly took interest at the designs on the pillow.
Seohyun cleared and started slowly, "So.. you like my house?".
Yonghwa looked up from the pillow and shrugged, "It's okay I guess. Quite cosy and has a warm feeling to it".
"That's nice of you to say.." Seohyun complimented him and quickly added behind it, "considering how small my house is compared to yours".
Yonghwa smiled and replied, "Well, a house doesn't have to be big to be a house. What matters is the people inside of it".
Seohyun looked surprised at his words, was he complimenting her?
Seohyun didn't know what to say and quickly blurted out, "So how does it feel like to be rich?". She would have banged her head to the wall if Yonghwa wasn't there. What kind of stupid question did she just ask?
She quickly continued, "I always wondered anyways".
Yonghwa cocked his head to one side, "There's alot more cameras following you around and your name gets announced on the news more often I guess".
"Special treatment?" Seohyun suggested.
Yonghwa considered for a moment and asked, "Is there a special toilet for rich people?".
Seohyun let out a thrilling laugh, "I guess not".
Yonghwa stared at her laugh and smiled. He kept thinking about how beautiful her laugh was.
Jonghyun and Yoona emerged from the kitchen, looking surprised at the happy faces on their respective older siblings faces.
Yoona told Yonghwa, "Yonghwa oppa, I have to complete an assignment by tonight so does Jonghyun oppa so I think it's time to leave Seohyun Eonnie to rest".
Yonghwa nod and got up, "Sure".
Yoona and Yonghwa put on their shoes while Seohyun and Jonghyun stood by the door.
"Anyonghasaeyo" Jonghyun bowed to Yonghwa.
"Anyeong!" Yoona bid goodbye to Jonghyun and Seohyun.
She went out of the door first. Yonghwa said a polite goodbye to Jonghyun before turning to the Seohyun, "Well goodbye then".
Seohyun smiled, "Bye".
"The bibimbap was delicious by the way" Yonghwa added before leaving through the front foor. Seohyun stood rooted at the same spot while Jonghyun closed the door behind him.
"That went well, didn't it noona?" Jonghyun said excitedly at Seohyun.
Seohyun put down her frozen wave and said, "Yeah..".
Jonghyun scratched his chin as he pondered loudly, "Yonghwa-shii looked much more pleasant than I thought he would be, wonder what made him so happy..".
"That guy is crazy anyways" Seohyun shrugged and went back to clean up at the kitchen.
Anyways, she didn't believe Jung Yonghwa would let her off so easily after the pond incident.
She was almost certain he would get his revenge and she wasn't going to be stupid enough to get cheated by his good behaviour all of a sudden.
She was Seo Ju Hyun and she was not going to be made fun of.
Everything seemed to go smoothly after that, Yonghwa finally agreed to allow Yoona and Jonghyun to date. However, there are several conditions like no PDA and adult surveillance when they are home alone. Most of everyone ignored his rules except Yonghwa himself anyways so everything was smooth --- well almost smooth.
One thing that frustrates Seohyun too much, Jung Yonghwa was officially harassing her. Every morning, when she walks to work, she actually glimpsed him passing by in his stupid shiny Mercedes, at the evening at the cafe, he occasionally came to sit and just drink coffee silently at one side, watching her.
Thankfully, the only time she hasn't seen him at work was her night shift. Maybe he was afraid of getting into fights with the supervisor.
She remembered the first time she saw her in the cafe after the dinner. Yonghwa was staring straight at her, his fingers interlocked on the table. Her surprise was indescribable and she froze shocked, staring at him until Fany nudged her from the side.
"Yah Seohyun, what are you staring at?" Fany looked around.
Seohyun immediately regained herself and shake it off, "It's nothing".
"Well that gentleman just came in, go serve him" Fany gave her a gentle push towards Yonghwa's table.
Almost unwillingly, Seohyun forced herself to go to his table, she forced herself to put a smile on her face. 'customer' she reminded herself in her mind. She fetched out her notepad, a pencil and smiled at Yonghwa, "Anyonghasaeyo mister, may I take your order please?" she bowed.
Yonghwa gave her a strange look and raised an eyebrow, "so I'm mister now? No longer Mr.-I-Know-You-Just-Want-My-Money ?".
Seohyun kept her composure and remained calm, "I don't understand what you are saying, mister. May I please take your order?".
"Iced Coffee".
"Is that all, mister?" Seohyun asked, smiling almost painfully.
Yonghwa smiled back, almost too happily that Seohyun could feel him mocking her, "Yes, for now".
Seohyun swiftly went back to the counter and began preparing the iced coffee. Her hands were moving expertly but her thoughts were far away.
Why was he here? Was he here to get his revenge for the pond accident? Was this guy so vengeful?
Seohyun took the iced coffee and set it on the table carefully before giving Yonghwa and rather scary smile, "Drink sweetly".
She gave a wicked grin as Yonghwa's face turned suspicious, "Did you by any chance spit in this?".
"CERTAINLY" Seohyun emphasized the word for two seconds before ending with a short, "not".
Seohyun left and went back to the counter. She glanced at the corner of her eye and saw Yonghwa turning the cup, inspecting it thoroughly. She wanted to laugh aloud but held it in, only giggling slightly.
In truth, she didn't do anything to the coffee at all. She just merely left him with a doubt, no fault with that.
Seohyun grinned and went back to work. Her grin didn't last long.
Soon, she realised that Yonghwa didn't mean to just drink and leave at all.
He requested for a new cup of iced coffee every hour just to stay longer and or Seohyun suspects, --to annoy her-- he just wanted to make her miserable.
Every hour, he raised his hand and waved at her. Once, Fany went to serve him instead of her but he immediately requested for her. She shuffled there frustratedly but he was smiling,
"What do you want now, sir?" Seohyun clenched her teeth.
"Iced coffee" Yonghwa said simply.
"You could have told that to Fany too, why do you have to call me specifically?" Seohyun almost glared but held it in.
Yonghwa smiled wickedly, prop up his elbow on the table and rest his chin on his hands, "Who knows, maybe it's because I like you?".
Seohyun ignored him, went to the counter and put 8 teaspoons of sugar into the iced coffee instead of two.
She slammed it on his table and smirked, "I HOPE YOU HAVE A REALLY REALLY SWEET DRINK".
Yonghwa a mouthful through the straw and almost immediately doubled back and spat it out, spraying everywhere, "YAH!".
Seohyun grinned broadly, "Here a tissue for a clumsy man" Seohyun gave him a tissue from her apron.
"Should I get you more ice for your BURN, sir?" Seohyun smirked.
Yonghwa glared at her but she swiftly turned away and went back to work.
That was for toying with her.
On the seventh night which approximately concluded one week of being harassed bu Jung Yong Hwa, Seohyun realised for the first time since days, Yonghwa hasn't been seen since her shift started. Tiffany seemed to notice too and , "Your prince charming isn't here today?".
Seohyun scowled immediately, "What prince charming?".
Fany's eyes began shining, "Jung Yonghwa-shii of course, yah I heard from the girls that he's the president of KOUTE and he's H.O.T, HOT!".
Seohyun just shrugged, "I hope he will never come again".
Fany shaked her head, "Don't worry Seohyun, he's all yours. I don't steal my girlfriend's boyfriend".
"He's not my boyfriend" Seohyun snapped.
"Then why is he here almost everyday and specifically only want you to serve him?" Fany questioned.
Seohyun sighed loudly, "because he's taking revenge on me on our past accidents".
"You had an accident with the president of KOUTE?!" Fany exclaimed.
Seohyun simply shaked her head, "Don't ask", she went to the counter leaving Fany to mutter alone.
"I still think he likes her though.." Fany mumbled to herself.
When Seohyun finally finished her shift that day, she bid Fany goodbye and left the cafe, her bag slung over her shoulder.
Surprisingly, there he was. Leaning against the railing of the road, his arms crossed as he smirked at her. Seohyun looked genuinely surprised to see him, "You-!".
"Hi, miss me?" Yonghwa said suggestively.
Seohyun sighed, "and I thought I got rid of you".
Yonghwa smiled, "Not gonna be that easy".
"Why don't you find someone else to disturb?" Seohyun said exasperated, "I have work".
"I know" Yonghwa said simply.
"Go away" Seohyun muttered as continued walking, her arms folded at her chest. Yonghwa followed beside her quickly.
"Are you going to your night shift again?" he asked.
Seohyun raised an eyebrow, "Why? You are going to pick a fight again?".
Yonghwa shrugged, "Maybe, if your supervisor annoys me again".
"Then stay away" Seohyun snapped.
"I'll drive you there" Yonghwa said, and pulled out his car key. At the roadside, Seohyun could see a car light up and beep. It was his Mercedes again, parked all shiny when it reflected the street lights. That just annoyed Seohyun even more.
What was he doing showing off that he had a sparkly car to her for in the middle of the night?
"It's okay, I can walk" Seohyun said promptly and continued walking. Yonghwa walked beside her, keeping up with her with ease.
He shook in head in dismay, "You know, you could just say 'okay' and we can save all this unnecessary conversations".
"You call this a conversation?" Seohyun mocked him.
Yonghwa immediately bombarded her.
"Why won't you let me drive you?".
"Why won't you leave me alone?".
"You only just saw me today!".
"Yeah and the day before, two days before, three days before, I have seen you here THE ENTIRE WEEK".
"I like the coffee".
"That's the lamest excuse I have ever heard".
"What else could I like if not the coffee then?".
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?".
"I just said coffee".
"How can you not like coffee but like coffee instead? That doesn't even make sense!".
"You are twisting my words and making them not make sense. What I say makes perfect sense".
"Okay fine, then go back and drink your coffee. Why are you bugging me?".
"I am being kind-hearted and offering to drive you".
"and I politely rejected you".
"That's my point, why would you reject me?".
"Because I don't want to sit your stupid car".
"Do you really think I want you to sit in my expensive Mercedes, you stupid woman?".
"Then why are you asking me then?".
"Because it's manners!".
"Liar, you just want to annoy the heck out of me!".
"Please, don't flatter yourself".
"Likewise, don't flatter your stupid Mercedes".
"My Mercedes is flawless".
"But the owner is flawful".
"What do you mean?".
"You know what I mean".
"I'm brilliant and your argument is IN.VA.LID".
"YOU--".
ringggg.. ringg..
Seohyun was about to retort back when her phone started to ring.
"Just you wait" Seohyun warned him, taking out her phone. Yonghwa sneered back, folding his arms while Seohyun answered the call.
"Yoboseyo?" Seohyun greeted rather angrily, Yonghwa was totally messing with her emotions.
Jonghyun's urgent voice greeted him, "NOONA!".
Seohyun immediately frowned in concern and asked, "Jonghyun? What's wrong?".
"Noona, there are two guys coming to our house and saying that we have to get out this instant!".
"WHAT? I'll be right back!", Seohyun snapped the phone shut.
"What?" Yonghwa demanded, looking concerned at Seohyun's strange behaviour.
Seohyun was prepared to run back when she realised Yonghwa was still there.
"You!" she exclaimed as if she just noticed he was there.
"Me? ... what?" Yonghwa asked uneasily.
Seohyun nod to him, "Your time to shine has arrive, you better drive me home by 5 minutes. I don't care how fast you go!".
Seohyun pulled Yonghwa by the wrist towards his Mercedes, Yonghwa's face was perfectly contorted in confusion as she pushed him towards the driver seat.
He looked confused, mumbling to himself, "Well, that was fast".
Seohyun glared at him, "Hurry up! My brother might be in danger!" , before sliding into the passenger seat.
Yonghwa immediately perked up at the sound of danger and got into the driver's seat. They wore their seat belts hastily.
"What danger?" Yonghwa demanded.
Seohyun shook her head, "There's no time to explain, just drive like hell is following".
Yonghwa nod and slammed his foot onto the accelerator.
ANYEONGG ~
I am so sorry I haven't updated for a longer period of time than I usually do.
It's because I suffered from a terrible writer's block /:
It was horrible, enough said.
But alas, I got over it and I'm back in action !
Do you like that little cliffhanger I did there ? It's about time some action is done to bring the two in-denial-lovebirds a step closer to each other , don't cha think ? *wink*
Look at that little squabble they had haha, they are totally in denial.
Anyways, I promise to try to get the next chapter updated as quickly as possible and to help me with the story's progress, you can actually leave your thoughts on what should happen next in the comments below !
THANKS FOR READING AND COMMENTING !
-JungHae
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